Classic Poinsettia Christmas Card

October 10, 2018

Hi All! It’s Elena today and I am a bit of a Christmas fanatic. When I was a child, my parents always had poinsettias around during the holiday season and I think that’s why I always love poinsettia stamps and have amassed quite a collection. This new Poinsettia Clear Stamp set from Krista Schneider is among my favorites because it has everything you need to create a lovely floral arrangement for a classic poinsettia Christmas card. I grabbed my alcohol markers to color this version, but the coloring possibilities are endless with this set. Here’s how I made the card:

Step 1 – Using the Poinsettia Clear Stamps, stamp one large poinsettia, one large holly branch, four pine boughs and four small berry branches onto 85 lb. White Soft Finish Cardstock using an alcohol marker-friendly black ink. It is advisable to use some type of stamp press when stamping these very detailed images onto the textured Soft Finish Cardstock as it is likely you will need to stamp them multiple times to get a nice solid image. (Tip: Even if you stamp onto the smooth side of the SFC, a stamp platform is a good idea.) Color all of the images except the berries on the holly branch using alcohol markers in classic Christmas shades of red, green and gold along with some browns for the branches.

Step 2 – Die cut all of the stamped images using the matching dies. Add small gold dots to the center of the poinsettia using liquid gold drops. Space the first set of drops apart from one another and let dry. If the drops touch each other, they will merge together and create an unattractive blob. Once dry, add a second set of dots, filling in any blank areas to create a full center on the poinsettia (only one layer of gold dots is pictured). Using liquid gold glitter drops, dot each berry on the holly branch image, again being careful to keep the dots separated from each other. Set both aside to dry.

Step 3 – Create an A2 top-fold card base. Cut a piece of 100 lb. White Soft Finish Cardstock to 5 1/2″ x 8 1/2″; score midway and fold in half. Die cut a piece of brushed gold cardstock with the second largest die in the ModaScrap Dashing Rectangles die set. Trim a piece of shiny metallic red cardstock to 1/2″ x 6″. Using black ink, stamp “Merry Christmas” from the Classic Christmas Sentiments Clear Stamps onto a piece of 85 lb. White Soft Finish Cardstock cut to 3 1/2″ x 1 1/4″. Trim the right end of the greeting banner into a V (fishtail) as shown in the photo. Trim apart one of the berry branches to create a single berry and a branch with 5 berries. Trim the large holly branch into several pieces to be spread around the arrangement.

Step 4 – Assemble the card by adding 6 mm Clear Double Sided Adhesive Tape to the back of the brushed gold panel and adhering it to the center front of the card base, leaving a white border all the way around it. Add 6 mm Clear Double Sided Adhesive Tape to the back of the metallic red strip and adhere about 5/8″ up from the bottom of the card base, having it run all the way across the card base beyond the edges of the gold panel. Trim off any excess that hangs over the sides of the card base. In only the very middle of the colored poinsettia, add a criscross of 6 mm Clear Double Sided Adhesive Tape. Also add tape to the back of the banner. Eyeball the placement of the poinsettia over the greeting and adhere it over the red metallic strip. The greeting banner should not extend beyond the gold panel on the right side. Add 3 mm Clear Double Sided Adhesive Tape to the back of the remaining stamped and die cut images. Adhere them as shown or as you prefer, tucking ends beneath the poinsettia. As a finishing touch, accent with a few of the two smallest sizes of Red/Gold Glitter Dots peel-offs. Enjoy!

I am a lifelong crafter who became addicted to papercrafting in the late 1990s. I absolutely love to color and make cards!! Occasionally I will dabble in other areas like mixed media and jewelry-making. You can find more from me on my blog - BlackSheep303.com and my YouTube channel - Black Sheep 303.